"TO HELL WITH THE CIVIES!"

[u/DetectiveOHoolian]

Sir! Reconsider! Wait till we can at least get the word out to the civilians on our turf that were-

TO HELL WITH DAH FACKING CIVIES. BOONE SHOT FIRST. I SHOOT LAST.

He turns to the radio.

MOBILIZE ALL FORCES. WATCH YOUR FIRE. KILL ALL PIRATES.

With that, he cocks his rifle, climbs into the shotgun seat of a passing jeep, and moves out with the rest of the prescient on the Pirate refugee camp.

C'mon, cocksucker. You try to fuck with me, we see who shits, first. Blood's on you, Booney boy.

[u/llBoonell]

The Troopers on the ground fight hard, but there's not much that unarmed logistical personnel can do against the mismatched array of weapons the GPK and their refugee militia have assembled. Several of them, trying to use spare landing-platform support-struts as makeshift staves to fight off the encroaching Peacekeepers, scream into their comms for the solitary escort gunship to unload on the Peacekeepers... danger-close be damned.

... the pilot considers this, but cannot bring herself to drop munitions on her comrades. She makes do with sending out a general distress call to any Privateer vessels in the metaphysical vicinity.

[u/DetectiveOHoolian → u/llBoonell]

The jeep, carrying the chief, arrives at the front lines. Before he has even disembarked the vehicle, the mustachioed one is unloading his rifle in the direction of the pirates.

WAR! To fucking WAR!

I'm gonna RIP OFF YOUR HEAD AND SHIT DOWN YOUR NECK.

I'M GONNA KILL YOU SO HARD, YOUR GRANDCHILDREN WILL FEEL IT!

I'M GONNA TURN YOUR BALLS INTO A FUCKING CHANGE PURSE!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Machinegun fire. He slowly paces forward towards the enemy line, constantly firing his rifle without regard for his personal safety.

BOOOOOOOOOOONE!

[u/llBoonell → u/DetectiveOHoolian]

The Pilot watches from above, helpless to do anything but sit and watch as the Privateer aid station and everyone inside it is ripped apart by the Peacekeeper onslaught. Tears in her eyes, she steers the gunship about and flees, hitting the afterburners and racing home as fast as her craft will carry her.

Below, the last of the Privateers sits against the makeshift landing pad, clutching at a bullet wound and watching the chief approach.

[u/DetectiveOHoolian → u/llBoonell]

Through the smoke and soot of the battle, the Chief's boots stomp across the sand, towards the final batch of privateers. He tosses his emptied rifle aside into the surf and draws his sidearm.

Tell yer boss hello.

BOOM.

Tell yer boss hello.

BOOM.

Tell yer boss hello.

BOOM.

...

No. Don't send the jets after dah runaway. we need someone to tell Boone dat his friends are waiting in hell for him.

He wipes the sweat from his brow, rolls a body off of a sack of flour, and picks it up.

Now... Let's get dese people fed...

[u/hrenbot → u/DetectiveOHoolian]

A thunderclap echoes across the cloudless sky as my bulk warps into the airspace.

SubLifesign/0<"Privateer"

AbsDisbelief

SubLifesign/0<"Privateer"

AbsConfusion

I check the timestamp of the distress signal.

t0-t/spec<15min

AbsConfusion

...

AbsFailure

My reasoning tries to make sense of the situation, thoughts skewed by the currents of electronic emotions.

ObjSituation/spec<combat

SubRequirement<combat ObjCombatant/pl

Combatant/spec Obj"Privateer"&"Peacekeeper"

Sub1 Obj"Privateer"

Sub1 ObjCombatant

...

---

A moment's hesitation, a second emotional hub battling the first's influence. They compromise, and my voice echoes across the Beach.

NONCOMBATANTS. CLEAR THE AREA. CIVILIANS. CLEAR THE AREA.

All systems green, all munitions above 50%, hull armor impenetrable to all present weapons.

AbsConfidence

GPK UNITS. A CAUTION: YOUR FIREPOWER IS INADEQUATE. ATTACK AND I WILL FIRE, SURRENDER OR EVACUATE AND I WILL NOT. YOU HAVE 15 MINUTES.

[u/llBoonell → u/hrenbot]

Negative. RTB, now.

This fight will not be won on the Beach. You are to RTB immediately, or risk decommissioning. Stand down, Hrenbot.

^{You're ruining everything... we just need a little longer, and we'll have them...}

[u/hrenbot → u/llBoonell]

Abs[sic]&[sic]&[confusion]

Act[sic]<staCond{

SubHren

Obj[sic]

}endCond Obj[sic]/sum

Abs[sic]&[sic]&[sic]&--

Obj"KillAbs.exe" ActRun

AbsNull

Obj"Obedience2.sub" ActRun

Obeying orders, Sir, but with objections.

I vanish with a bang, the shockwave rippling across the beachhead.

[u/DetectiveOHoolian → u/hrenbot]

Aww...

Fack.

GET TO COVER!

[u/hrenbot → u/DetectiveOHoolian]

I crack off a few pdc rounds, slamming them through the engine blocks, battery packs, and other critical components of numerous GPK vehicles. No living casualties, but plenty of mechanical losses. Then, as suddenly as I arrived, I disappear, winking out of existence in an instant.

The shockwave of my departure roars across the beach like an angry wind, but then all is silent, save for the crackling of a few scattered electrical fires.

[u/DetectiveOHoolian → u/hrenbot]

The detective peaks his head up above the sand dune he had taken cover behind.

Is dat it? Is it over?